


carpe diem, losers

by beegay



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Bad Parenting, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, DPS AU, Dead Poets Society AU, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Everyone Is Gay, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Nonbinary Beverly Marsh, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Roommates, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting, Trans Beverly Marsh, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beegay/pseuds/beegay
Summary: dead poets society x IT auWhen Eddie Kaspbrak attends Welton Academy, he is greeted by a lanky dorky passionate boy who will change his life, and friends who despite all the odds, find passion and love and poetry inside each other and themselves.Basically they're all gay, they hate their parents, and they're roomates.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. welcome to welton

**Author's Note:**

> hi lovelies i hope you enjoy this I haven't written in so long <3 here's to all my pining dark academia gays

Welton Academy seemed everything beautiful and terrible all at once. Cold walls with beautifully stacked stones stood alone like a contradiction of the spirit, a soul split in half, cracked, disregarded, and turned to dust. Gray and dead now haunting its premises, and yet people walked around it unaware, talking and laughing as if it was teeming with life. Eddie Kaspbrak wasn't laughing or talking, running around in a uniform with groups of friends. No, Eddie felt out of place, his clothes did not match, his energy did not match, even his height did not match, as he was a good 5 inches shorter than everyone he was seeing. But he didn't have the time to think of all the ways he wouldn't fit in here, he would be stuck standing at this entrance for ages, and his mom was trying to stay “calm” while frantically waving him inside as the mournful bagpipes began. As Eddie sat down he pondered on how sacred the whole room felt. He had been in church before, when his mom felt like going, Welton’s initiation ceremony felt similar to that, the sweltering crowded pews with their suffocating hymns and hardened stares, if he thought about it too much Eddie’s hands would start to itch for his inhaler, wanting to suck new breath into his shaking body, so instead he pushed the thought from his mind and tried to focus on what was in front of him. Ahead, boys lined up like toy soldiers; holding flags, their faces blank, honorable it could have been said, but mostly despondent, as if they were empty shells, standing up ready to die for something they didn't believe in. No, he thought firmly, they were just boys, and he’s going to resemble their freeze-dried emotions sooner than he's ready to. People were standing up he vaguely noticed, and he managed to join them on time, shoving his brain back into the present and out from the depths of his anxieties. He and his mother soon walked out the doors, stopping to shake hands with the necessary acquaintances, a conveyor belt of niceties. If he was being honest, Eddie hated how this made him feel, the way the strangers would size him up, comparing him to his brother, daring him to even come close. It’s always like this, Eddie just grins and bears it, keeps his head down low enough to blend in, and does well enough to keep out of trouble with his mom, avoiding Sonia’s obsessive behavior with Eddie not being an absolute perfect student. Eddie kicked himself for feeling relief when he said goodbye to his mom, it’s hard not to though when Sonia’s looming shadow is like a constant reminder of Eddie’s failure. Especially when Eddie reminded himself enough as it was. He stood by some arches, enjoying finally a second of peace, as the whole day had been full of shaking hands with strangers, and conversations of so little relevance they very easily could've just not existed. As Eddie’s eyes searched the courtyards he watched a boy stride over to him, a loopy charming grin taking up most of his face, huge chunky rickety black glasses that bounced on his face, and curly black hair that seemed to move with a mind of its own. Eddie didn't even consider the boy would be moving towards him until he stopped in front of him and held out a beautiful hand. Which was far too distracting to even let himself start to think about. So like a reflex Eddie held out his hand as well, shaking it in the way he had been taught. “Eddie Kaspbrak?” God his voice was nice “I'm Richie Tozier, I'll be your roommate this year” If Eddie was smooth and charming like this boy-Richie, he’d smile his best smile and say something funny, dare to make him laugh, but Eddie was himself, and so he stuttered out hello and blushed in the way he always did around boys too pretty for their own good. Richie didn't seem deterred though, he walked away with the confidence that Eddie would follow, an assumption that was regrettably correct. He talked of the school, shooting Eddie a grin when he made a joke. It was always times like this, times when Eddie was in the presence of people he was in awe of, he reflected on how much he loathed his quietness, how his brain could never think of the right thing to say at the right time, or how it would short circuit and end up stuttering slightly or simply nodding. Luckily Richie seemed to have enough to say for the both of them, not in an overbearing way though like most people, instead, the way he spoke was welcoming and kind, as if he understood Eddie wouldn't have a problem simply listening. Things got quieter between them as they reached the dormitories, Richie focusing on the alums that were lingering around, a picture of a model student, a model man, charming, eloquent, confident. Eddie would have been consumed with jealousy had he not been focusing on the slight tear in the corner of Richie’s behavior, a fear resting in the shadow of all his movements and statements, anxiety eating away at them. Eddie had always been good at reading people, seeing their cracks and sharp edges, it was an upside to always being the listener, you were unable to do anything else except observe. But Richie, his unease was so familiar to Eddie, a flower of companionship bloomed in his stomach, and a wave of compassionate pity flowed from him. But Richie broke the tense environment as the older gentlemen walked away, then he turned to Eddie with a stupid disarming grin and pulled open the door to the dorms, holding his arm out ushering Eddie in, cocking his eyebrow with a hint of mischief as he teased, “You Ready?”


	2. "This is Eddie Kaspbrak!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> richie introduces eddie to his friends here at welton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me posting 2 chapters in one day bc i need the validation...yeah

Richie pushed the doors open, chest puffed out, strolling in easily, his magnetizing smile still ever-present. Boys called to him and swarmed him begging for a second of his time or the gift of his attention and Richie met them all with wit and a laugh, gleaming in the spotlight. He turned left at a doorway and swung open the door to a reasonably sized dorm room. It honestly wasn't the smallest Eddie had been in and even had a lovely window with a view he was quite pleased to see. Richie’s things were already out and being transferred to their new living space, Richie barely had time to look towards Eddie when the door swung open again and a girl with flaming hair walked in and leaned against the doorway. She wore a formidable smirk and was biting her pinky finger almost flirtatiously, an air of teenage devilry circling her. “Well stick how was your summer?” she teased, Richie’s eyes lit up before he narrowed them and gave her the finger, she full-body-laughed and did not attempt to get away when Richie stalked towards her tauntingly before scooping her up in a hug. For the first time, Eddie noticed Richie was quite tall, very tall in fact, as the redheaded girl was taller than Eddie and yet didn't come close to challenging the height of the raven-haired boy. She laughed again and pinched him when he put her down, ignoring his consequent, ow! and draping herself dramatically on his bed, it reminded Eddie of a greek statue he would see in a museum, full of elegance and beauty and nearly mocking you for your lack of it. Eddie had been so engrossed in the theatrics of what he had witnessed he did not until now notice a curly-haired boy, and a pudgier, round sort of boy follow her in, cramping up the dorm room significantly, Eddie thought, it had not been built for 3 extra people. But they had seemingly no problem feeling comfortable in the space, lounging on the chair, and leaning on the back of the bed. They had started a conversation about their summer and teenage antics, which awakened Eddie to the fact he did not know these people, and staring at them as they caught up was not the best first impression. So as he has always done best, he lowered his head, turned around, and minded his own business, willing himself to become as invisible as he could. He unpacked his suitcase for a few minutes before the conversation lulled and he heard an indignant stomp and felt a hand on his back. “God guys I am so sorry this is Eddie Kaspbrak!” Richie announced. Eddie didn't know if he was relieved or terrified to face the crowd in front of him, but he turned around nonetheless. “Beverly Marsh,” said the redheaded girl with a nod of her head, her smirk increasing. Eddie studied her freckled face and wild, passionate eyes, she was the picture of everything Eddie’s mom had willed him to stay away from, and yet she sat in his dorm room at the very place Sonia had insisted Eddie be sent. Eddie smiled towards her and even when he turned his head he could feel her eyes caught on him, and he became suddenly very embarrassed of his orthodox brown hair, and childlike features, next to the burning fire of fervor that was Beverly Marsh, Eddie felt like his presence was violating her light. “This is Stanley Uris,” Richie continued as he ushered to the curly-haired boy, he looked like he belonged here, with intelligent eyes and a self-assured stance. But he gave Eddie a kind, almost pitying smile as if he was apologizing for the circumstances of their meeting. “Stan the Man here is the smartest little shit in all of Welton” Beverly teased, “Bev you know that's not true.” Stanley retorted, but a faint blush painted his cheeks, Richie clapped his back and laughed. “Stan the whiz that's what we call him” pronounced Richie with a playful smile, his eyes right on Eddie’s, like it had been a secret joke they shared, everyone in the room laughed, however, and Eddie caught himself breathing out a laugh and giving a small smile, which made Richie’s grin grow and nearly sparkle. Eddie thought if this boy kept looking at him like that, he was going to need his inhaler. “They all flatter me because I help them in Latin,” Stanley said sincerely to Eddie.“And we love ya for it, Uris!” Beverly noted, a brazen smile gracing her features. Stanley rolled his eyes and leaned back. “And I’m Ben, Ben Hanscom,” said the boy to his left, sitting in the chair. His face was kind, in a sort of hopelessly innocent way, Eddie shook his hand and smiled. It felt good to know people, people who despite Eddie’s lack of additions to the conversation didn't mind talking to him and laughing as a group, passing around a cigarette and mocking the initiation ceremony, Ben would lean over and cue Eddie into the details if someone brought up something he wasn’t familiar with, and Eddie was beyond thankful. Here, safe in their little dorm world with Beverly’s snarky comments and Stanley’s comebacks and most of all Richie’s loud laugh and eyes that always wandered to Eddie in a reassuring way that made Eddie’s stomach flutter. The magic was interrupted when the door was knocked upon, the cigarette snuffed out under a shoe, and everyone fixed themselves back into the soulless figures Eddie had seen earlier at the ceremony. The door creaked open and an unamused, disinterested man walked in. The room collectively stopped breathing as Richie twitched forwards toward him, radiating the anxious energy Eddie had caught a glimpse of before, as he stuttered out an “F-Father!,” his smile not reaching his eyes, “I thought you’d gone.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an unwelcome guest appears, Eddie sees Richie in a new light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this like rn in a rage of pining

The first thing Eddie thought about Mr. Tozier was that he seemed to radiate almost the exact opposite energy of Richie, foreboding and serious, and yet fearful, so constantly motivated by fear his whole life, it hardened into anger and resentment. Eddie knew what that was like, that's how Sonia, too consumed with her anxieties, couldn't be a mother, she only knew how to fear for Eddie, and in time fear became numbness, became anger. Fear was powerful, it twisted and turned and ruined. And it passes on, becomes hereditary, the fear Eddie had when he was with his mom, the fear he saw in Richie’s eyes when his father walked in, it was all too familiar. Richie lost all his suaveness almost within milliseconds, suddenly a child ready to be blamed, scolded, Eddie wanted to close his eyes and avoid the whole scene but he felt frozen. Mr.Tozier didn't hesitate to greet the room, that fake pretentious way everyone greeted Eddie before, a “Hello, Boys!”, a nod, a finality in the greeting everyone understood. This was not about introductions or conversation, it was purely circumstantial. Richie made his way to his father, synchronizing with him and leaving the room with a sense of denouement, a horrible conclusion to a play you just started to get into. The room was tensely quiet for a bit, everyone understanding they were not allowed to leave, with Mr. Tozier and Richie talking outside, but also not feeling exactly welcome in this no longer safe environment that had been so cruelly violated. There was a moment of shouting, and Eddie could've sworn there was a look of pain that struck Beverly’s eyes, but Richie walked back in, himself again, with perhaps sharper edges. “What was that about?” Stanley asked tentatively, care ever-present in his voice. Richie sharply exhaled, “The same thing it's always about isn't it, You're doing too much this year, I gotta quit the annual now, focus on getting into medical school, being perfect, getting A’s, being better than he ever could, better than-than I am”. No one met each other's eyes, Eddie assumed they had all heard the same thing before, but this time, seeing that someone could say that to Richie, that seemed wrong, seemed offensive. Richie was perfect, Eddie had recognized that immediately, and his father who had known him his whole life? How could he not see that? And then there was Richie’s voice, the way he spits the words out, how someone so soft and lovely and kind, could become so jaded, a pit formed in Eddie’s stomach just thinking about it. Richie looked up after a bit, his signature back on, and as hard as Eddie tried he couldn't stop staring at it, “First study group tomorrow? I’m gonna need as much help as I can get, and that means you, Stan!” Everyone smiled again, variously agreeing, Stanley groaning and saying something to Richie about how he has to study his stuff too, which was appropriately boo-ed. Everyone started filing out, talking over one another, discussing inviting Beverly’s roommate met which groans and Eddie watched as Beverly hit Stanley over the head. Eddie smiled to himself, and almost allowed himself to miss the presence of everyone in the room, laughing and overlapping each other. But any reservations of being alone were swept away when Richie’s eyes met his own and smirked, “Better start getting unpacked Kaspbrak, the first day of classes and study group tomorrow” he advised, before going back to his work and then getting into bed. Eddie realized later at night when Richie was asleep, he had never actually agreed to go to the study group, Richie had just stupidly assumed he would join, which was stupid, and arrogant, and goddamnit correct. Eddie willed himself to sleep so he would stop worrying about how awkward he was gonna be tomorrow, or if he would embarrass himself reading, or in class. Luckily he looked across from him and saw Richie sleeping, the moonlight highlighting his sharp beautiful features, his glasses standing crookedly on the nightstand, so Eddie got to admire his features in full. His hair splayed on the pillow all-black messy curls that looked too incredibly soft. And his mouth was open just a bit, angelic Eddie allowed himself to think, and slipped into a soft slumber only thinking of Richie Tozier’s disarming smile and soft.. soft-looking lips.


End file.
